The Runaway
by Whammy
Summary: Jane and Maura's 16 year old daughter runs away the day they are supposed to sign their divorce papers. Can working together to find her and save their relationship before it's too late?


Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles.

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><p><strong>From: Charley Rizzoli<strong>

You and Mom have been so caught up in your stupid divorce that you don't pay attention to me anymore. I'm running away. Maybe that will make you pay attention.

Attached was a picture of a bus with the words, "New York City" lit up on top of it.

This was not happening. I read the text over and over, opening and closing it to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me after a long night at work. I walked into the bathroom, splashing some water on my face to make sure I was really awake, looking at the text one more time. Today was already preparing to be the worst day of my life and now my freaking kid has to run away to prove a point to me. Sometimes, I regretted that I taught her that it was good to be stubborn like me.

I called Maura while I wandered into the kitchen for some food. We weren't exactly on speaking terms unless lawyers were present or it was about our daughter. Maura would say it's because I got so defensive and she couldn't have a rational conversation with me anymore. I would say that defending myself is completely rational, but maybe that's why we're in this situation in the first place. I figured I should be a responsible parent and find out if Charley had gotten in contact with her, or only me.

"Jane, I don't know why you're calling me, but it better be good," she answered in a huff.

Score: 1- Mama Cop, 0- Dr. Isles

"Has our lovely daughter not shared the news with you? She ran away," I said, trying to hold in the happiness that Charley contacted me first.

"As humorous as that is, it hardly sounds like something Charlotte would do," Maura responded, unwilling to believe me.

"Yeah, well she sent me a nice picture of a bus heading to New York City and a message saying we don't pay attention to her. So, if you would like to help me find our daughter, that'd be great, Maura." I didn't mean to get so defensive. For once, I just wanted her to believe me without having to see the proof herself.

"Is she really doing this today of all days?" Maura sighed.

Today was the day we were supposed to sign our divorce papers. Our signatures would effectively end our 18 year marriage. Well, Maura would argue that it was my job that ended it, but I would never admit that there might be some truth in that. Besides, now there was a distraction. How could I blame my kid for trying to save her parents' marriage? She was only doing what I was too stubborn to do and what Maura had seemingly lost hope in.

"She's a stubborn kid," I reasoned.

"Well, she got that from you, Jane," she curtly responded. I counted to three in my head, trying to keep myself from yelling at her. The pause gave her enough time to reason with me. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I'm sure Charlotte is just upset and we'll be able to find her before our appointment with the lawyers," Maura reasoned.

"I'll swing by the house and pick you up, alright? Nothing's going to happen to her," I promised. Maybe my promises didn't mean a lot to Maura anymore, but this was one I was going to keep. I figured I should put on something a little more presentable for my soon-to-be ex-wife, so I changed out of my sweats into a pair of jeans and an old BPD shirt. After taking an ibuprofen to prepare for the headache this was bound to be, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door of my apartment.

I can't tell you how much I miss our house. I hated going over there because it was where we used to be happy. It was where Maura told me she loved me for the first time, where I carried her over the threshold after our wedding. It was where Maura told me we were going to have a baby, where I taught Charley how to play catch, where my life used to be. None of that was mine anymore: not the kitchen sink that I had fixed countless times, the pictures of our family in the hallways, or the bed where I had slept with Maura every night. It was Maura's house before we got married and it would be Maura's house after we got divorced. Charley's things would stay there because that's where she grew up. At 16, there wasn't a whole lot of growing up left to do, but I guess she would finish growing up there too. She'd come to see me on Wednesdays and the weekends I had off, and God, I wish I had more of them.

I pulled up to the house and before I could get out of the car, Maura was already closing the door behind her. I was relieved to not have to go into the house. I unlocked the door and Maura climbed into the passenger seat. She was dressed simply, in a dark purple v-neck with a pair of black slacks, but I'd be lying if I said she looked anything but beautiful. But she wasn't mine to call beautiful anymore.

"I tried to call her, but she didn't answer," Maura said after we awkwardly idled in silence for two minutes.

"We'll go down to the station and have them try and track her cell," I informed Maura.

"You haven't called them already?" Maura accused. "She's probably going to have it off anyway," she muttered.

"What? She never has that thing off; she's 16!" I argued.

"Yeah, she's had 16 years of listening to you talk about work at the dinner table. Would you like to place a wager?"

"I'll call them right now," I said, pulling out my phone. When the call connected, I put it on speakerphone. "Hey Frost, can you do me a favor and try and trace Charley's cell? She's uh, giving us a little trouble."

Maura sat next to me with her arms crossed, looking unimpressed. We awkwardly sat there waiting for an answer. Back in the old days, we would have made out in the car, trying to stay quiet while we waited. We would make faces at Charley in the backseat and try not to laugh. Maura would mouth the words "I love you" to me and I would hear her voice, even though no noise came out. Now, we just sat in silence.

"Rizzoli? You're not gonna be happy. We couldn't trace anything," Frost said.

Score: 1 for Dr. Isles

"Well, thanks for trying. I'll let you know if I need anything else," I replied, hanging up.

I looked at Maura and surprisingly saw no smug look. "What, no 'I told you so?'" I asked accusingly.

"No, Jane. This isn't a game. Our daughter is missing."

I saw the tears well in her eyes and instantly felt like a jerk. Of course this wasn't a game, but did she not trust me enough to find Charley? Our daughter was smart, but not smarter than the two of us.

"Maura, we're going to find her. She ran away to prove a point to us. Charley is going to be just fine. I'm sorry I haven't taken this more seriously," I said, hesitating before putting my hand on her shoulder.

She looked at me, her brown eyes dark with fear. "She's all I have," she whispered. The only other time I had heard Maura's voice so low was when Charley fell out of a tree and broke her arm. Maura was the most logical person I knew, but when it came to our daughter, all of that was lost. I didn't know how to assure her anymore, but I couldn't sit there and not do anything. Despite all of the stupid things we had been arguing about, despite the fact that we were supposed to be signing divorce papers today, I never stopped loving her. My protective instincts were failing me though. I didn't know what Maura wanted from me.

"What do you need from me?" I asked.

She looked a little taken back by my question, but answered, "Just find her."

"Okay, let's go to the nearest bus station and ask if they've seen her. Can you bring up a picture on your phone for us to show them?"

I could have just as easily done the task myself, but it would distract Maura and help her feel important. She began to scroll through her phone and every time I glanced at her, I saw her making different faces- some happy, some sad. I effortlessly navigated through the city, looking for Charley on the streets just in case. As I pulled into the bus station, I took a deep breath. I hoped this would at least give us a lead because as cocky as I could be, I had no idea where to look next.

I spotted the ticket counter and led Maura that way. There was only one person working, an elderly woman with thick-framed glasses.

"Hi, I'm Detective Rizzoli with BPD," I said, flashing my badge. "When did your shift start, ma'am?"

"I've been here since we opened at 6am," she responded.

"Alright, and how often do you have busses leaving to New York City?" I asked.

"We have two daily, one at 6am when we open, and the other at 11am.

"And is the schedule the same for all the busses in Boston?"

"Yes, with budget cuts, those are the only times we have available. May ask why?" she timidly asked the detective.

"Have you seen this girl?" Maura asked, holding her cell phone up to the woman. The picture she had settled on was from a year ago, before any of this had happened, when Charley still smiled without being asked. Her hair was dark, like mine, but the rest of her was all Maura. It made sense since Maura was the one who carried her. Charley had Maura's nose and perfect smile, but most importantly, she had Maura's eyes. When we were looking through donors, I told Maura that as long as our baby had her eyes, I didn't care what he or she looked like and I meant it. Maura's eyes were so captivating and displayed emotion in a way I didn't even think was possible. She could tell me she loved me without saying a word, all she needed were those eyes. And in four hours, I'd be signing all of that away. After exiting my Maura trance, I looked at the time.

"Maura, could you double check the time for me?" I asked, after repeatedly checking my phone and watch.

"It's 10:04, why?" she asked, confused.

"Charley texted me at 8:30 this morning and it is 10 now. It would have taken around four hours to get into the city, which the bus would be getting there right now. So that means Charley was trying to trick us because there's no way she could have taken that picture when she did if she was on the bus!" I exclaimed. There is nothing like the rush of solving a mystery. Another point for Mama Cop. "Thank you for the help, ma'am," I told the woman at the counter. I walked Maura towards the car, excited with this newfound information.

"I can't believe Charlotte would attempt to pull such an elaborate scheme to get our attention!" Maura was clearly not pleased with our daughter.

"I bet she's somewhere in the city. She thought she could trick us into going to New York to find her so we'd have to spend time together," my sentence dragged off as I got into the car.

Oh, Charley. All she wanted was for her parents to stay together, even if it meant sending them on a wild goose chase. She probably thought that by making us spend more time together, we'd talk and somehow make up. I hate to admit this, but I've let my daughter down a lot more than I ever planned to. Work just so easily got in the way of being home every night. I shouldn't have let it, I should have prioritized her and Maura better, I know that.

"Jane, even if you think she's in the city, I would still like to find her," Maura said, interrupting my thoughts and closing the passenger door.

"Yeah, of course babe," I said without thinking. "I'm sorry," I quickly added, sheepishly looking down.

"I'm not going to be upset with you for using a pet name you've insisted on calling me for years. It's simply a habit and those are hard to break," Maura reasoned. She reached out and rubbed my arm and I couldn't bring myself to pull away. This was the most tender moment we had shared in nearly a year and I wasn't going to be the one who pulled away. She looked at me like she was about to say something, but then stopped herself.

"Shall we go?" I hesitantly asked.

"Yes, I suppose we should," she said, pulling away from me. "Where should we start?"

"Good question. If I were a sixteen year old, where would I be?" I thought out loud.

"Charlotte isn't just any sixteen year old, Jane," Maura reminded me.

I was at a lost. Maura could see the panic on my face, the realization that I had not been paying enough attention to Charley to even think of where she would run off to. My priorities were wrong all along and I was too stubborn to admit that, even to myself, before now. How could I not know the first place my daughter would run off to? I'm a damn good detective, but none of that matters if I'm not also being a good mother. "I really fucked this up, didn't I?"

Maura didn't respond. She still couldn't lie, and refraining from saying anything was her way to try and save my feelings. Instead, she said something completely different.

"Remember the day she was born?" Maura asked.

I was confused by her question, but I nodded. "It was the happiest day of my life."

"From the minute she was born, I knew you were going to protect her. You followed the nurses around, making sure that they were taking care of our daughter. I wanted to help, but I was so tired. You reported everything back to me faster than the nurses could. Somehow, you were the one to place her on my chest, all bundled up and clean." she said, smiling at me. "I knew you would take care of everything that I couldn't. I always had that faith in you. I just wish that you had kept it in me."

I saw the tears rolling down her cheek and I brushed them away before she could tell me not to. I squeezed her hand in mine as I felt my throat begin to burn with all the words I wanted to say and all the words I needed to say. I swallowed, trying to find some courage before I spoke. My heart was racing, so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"When Charley was born, I knew that my life would be changed forever. It wasn't just about us anymore, it was about her. I always thought it was my job to protect you two. I could take care of myself as long as you and Charley were okay. But that's not true. I need you Maura," I said, looking into her eyes. "I still need you. I have no idea where she is. I thought I could do this, but I realized I've been looking at all of this wrong. I thought I could find Charley using my instincts as a cop, but that's not working. Of course it's not working. The only way we're going to find her is as her parents."

"Jane, I don't know what to say."

I kissed her without thinking. She placed her hand on my cheek and pulled me closer. Her lips were soft and warm against mine. I was horrible at apologizing, but I hoped that this was getting the message across. _I'm sorry for every time I talked about work at the dinner table. I'm sorry for missing Charley's soccer games. I'm sorry for not listening to you when you said I was at the station too much. I'm sorry I didn't let you take care of me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you 'I love you' more. I'm sorry I fucked all of this up. _Maura pulled away when she felt the tears. "I'm sorry," I said.

"I know," she responded, kissing every tear away. She kissed my forehead and I remembered how much I missed the simplest things about Maura. I wasn't going to let this go. I had to fight for us.

"Maur, I know things aren't the greatest between us right now, but I really want to try again. I know we can make this work. We're great at compromising when we're both trying," I said, wiping my eyes and looking into hers.

"Oh?" she said, challenging me. She had a teasing look in her eye. I hoped that was a good sign.

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "Don't you remember naming our kid? You were so insistent that she have a good proper name. But I didn't want her to have a boring name, like me."

"Your name isn't boring, Jane," Maura interrupted.

"Let me finish. I didn't want her to have a boring name, or one that everyone else would have when she went to school. She was going to be special, not like anyone else. You were so methodical, insisting that we go by each letter of the alphabet looking through names. When we got to the C's, you said Charlotte. You said it was the male form of Charles. I thought, well Charles is a pretty boring name, but Charlie is one of the best nicknames out there. And what did I tell you?"

"We can name her Charlotte if you let me call her Charley," Maura said, smiling. "That was a rather good compromise, I suppose. But how do I know it's different this time?"

"I never understood what you were saying when we argued before. I didn't understand that every time I said 'yes' to do something for work, I was saying 'no' to you and Charley. I should have been around more- I love you both so much. I just wasn't looking at it right. I see that now," I promised.

"I know where she is," Maura said. I looked at her shocked that she so easily changed the topic. Yes, it was important to find our daughter, but this was our marriage we were talking about. "I'm sorry, I know you were saying something rather important and I was listening, I promise. But, I realized where Charlotte is."

"How?"

"It's our compromise place. Somewhere that Charley could both learn and be active."

Suddenly, I realized she was talking about the Boston Public Gardens. "She could learn while running around, not like a stuffy museum," I exclaimed with a smile. I leaned over to kiss Maura, but stopped myself. "What I said earlier, I meant it. I want to be with you."

"Good because I love you. Let's go find our daughter and then you can ground her for the rest of her life," Maura said, kissing me quickly. I wanted more, but that would have to wait until later.

I started the car and sped through the city streets. Maura placed her left hand on my thigh and I took her hand into mine. Everything felt right. I was going to get my life back and I wouldn't fuck it up this time. Maura hummed softly to the radio I didn't even realize was on while we navigated towards Charley. After arriving and finding a parking spot, we began to search for Charley. I wanted to be the one to find her, but it ended up being Maura.

"Look, there she is!" she said, pointing at a park bench. She took my hand and started dragging me towards the spot. Sure enough, there was Charley, lying on a park bench and reading a book. She must have been rather engrossed in it because she was startled when she looked up and saw us.

"Oh shoot, it's only 11," she said, busting out the Maura Isles signature pout. It was the "but I really want to have a baby pout." The "can you please go see why she's crying at 3am" pout. The "you've been working so late and I miss you" pout. Thankfully, it only worked when Maura did it.

"Nice try, kiddo," I said, pulling her up. She crossed her arms as we sat down on the bench next to her.

"Charlotte, I understand you've been upset, but this is really not the best way to handle this. You've had us so worried," Maura said.

"Yeah, you're grounded until graduation," I added.

"Oh, this is so not fair. First you have to ruin my life and get divorced, even though you clearly still love each other. Then, when I try to help you out, you ground me for it!"

"I know your life is very dramatic," I said, fake sympathizing with her. "Did you really think we wouldn't find you?"

"I knew you would, I just hoped you'd have to go to New York and back. Then, I'd be at home waiting when you came back frazzled and missing your little paper signing event."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that we've worked things out," Maura said.

"Really?" Charley asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, really," I said, messing up her hair. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're grounded."

It didn't matter though. Charley had gotten what she wanted. She pulled us both in for a hug and squeezed us tight. I had my family back and I was never letting them go again. Charley rattled on about moving my stuff back into the house and promising to make us dinner once a week so that she could be ungrounded for prom. Maura eyes met mine and I heard her say I love you without ever making a sound.


End file.
